Reflecting Me
by sillygame
Summary: When Carolina Whitney moves to Beacon Hills, things are relatively quiet, and she hopes that she'll be able to start a new life after the death of her older sister. But when she befriends two seemingly normal boys, she isn't aware of what she's in for. Stiles/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! So this is my first fan fiction ever, hope you enjoy it. Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I decided to change this from first to third person, so there may be a couple things I missed. I'd love it if you guys had time to review. I need all the help I can get, since I'm pretty new at all this.**

**Hey guys, shocker: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

_ Relax. Deep breaths. C'mon Caro. You're a big girl now. Head up._

Carolina sucked in a gulp of crisp air, taking small steps in the direction of the high school. The brunette turned back in the direction she'd come for a moment, giving her dad a small wave and watching as he pulled out of the parking lot. Wonderful. There went her one hope of avoiding the horribly awkward first day that was in store for her. She turned on her heel and headed into the building, trying to put a confident pep in her step. Carolina managed to make a couple of turns in the hallways of the unfamiliar school before realizing she had no clue as to where she was going. Not wanting to talk to anyone just yet, she wandered around for a good five minutes in search of the main office, where she was supposed to pick up her schedule. She passed through several different wings, skipping by classroom after classroom. By this time, the halls had become considerably more crowded, and she hunched over slightly, letting her hair curtain her face. She wasn't usually so antisocial, but it was much too early in the morning for actual social interaction. She decided she'd rather wait until the teacher introduced her. At least, if they still did those horribly awkward introductions in high school. She could distinctly remember that happening once in middle school. But that was back across the country, in New York.

New state, new town, new life. At least, that's what she was hoping for.

Thankfully, Carolina managed to stumble upon the main office in a small side hallway. For some reason, whatever architects designed high schools always seemed to think it was a good idea to plop the main office in the most obscure hiding place. Genius. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and made her way over to the secretary's desk, where a plump blond woman of about forty was typing away at her computer. She held up a well manicured finger as she finished up whatever she was doing. Typing the last letter with a flourish, she looked up at Carolina expectantly.

"Hi. Um... I was told to come here to get my schedule?" Carolina gave the woman a tentative smile, which she thankfully returned.

"Of course! Are you... Allison?" She sifted through a few papers on the side of her desk, reading off of one of the top ones.

"Nope. I'm Carolina. Carolina Whitney."

"Darn. Had a 50/50 chance to get that right. Okay Carolina, here is your schedule, locker information is at the top of the page. You can just sit right outside while you wait for Mr. Williams to get back. He'll be taking you to your first class." She motioned over to the open door, where a small metal bench was visible. Carolina nodded slightly to show her understanding. Flipping through another stack of papers, the secretary pulled out blue paper and a white paper.

"That's the map of the school. The school isn't too big, so it shouldn't give you much trouble, but if you ever get lost, don't hesitate to ask any of the staff. You could ask a student, but they often aren't the most reliable sources. I've heard of freshman who have been sent to search for the third floor pool." The woman let out a laugh. The joke went right over Carolina's head, as she knew next to nothing about the layout of the school, but she gave a light chuckle to appease the older lady.

Carolina took the papers and thanked Mrs. Beasley, as her name plate read, before heading outside and plopping down onto the cold bench. She let her backpack slide off her arm and fall to the ground beside her. The bell sounded, and most of the kids hanging around outside filtered into the school, grumbling things about school and how they wished it were summer. Carolina unzipped her bag and grabbed her phone out of the front pocket, checking her texts while she was waiting. She opened the single text that was waiting for her.

**To: **Carolina

**From: **Padre

Hope today is everything you ever hoped for and more! (to be read sarcastically)

She grinned as she read the message. Her dad was such a nerd, always putting little comments and recommendations in parenthesis after his text messages. Sometimes he even put cringe worthy emoticons and abbreviations like 'kk' or 'lol.' Carolina slid her phone open, typing in a quick little response.

**To: **Padre

**From: **Carolina

Aw, schmanks Dad. I'll try my best to not totally hate today, but no promises. Wish me luck! Love you.

As she tapped send, she felt the bench shake slightly, indicating that someone had sat down next to her. Carolina looked up to see a pretty girl, around her age, perched on the other end of the bench. She shot the girl a grin, hoping that she'd respond well to it.

"Hey. It's Allison, right?" Carolina offered the girl her hand, which she took, giving her a shy smile. The girl's handshake was surprisingly firm, and she was wearing a somewhat quizzical look. Carolina let out a breathy laugh.

"Ah, sorry, I'm not a stalker, I swear. It's just... The secretary lady mistook me for you when I first walked in, that's all, and I figured you had to be the other new kid."

Allison's smile grew as Carolina struggled to explain, revealing some killer dimples. Wow. She was definitely jealous. Carolina ran her hand through her hair, a nervous tick of hers that she never could kick.

"I'm Carolina. " Allison nodded. She was still pretty timid, so Carolina decided to try and make a little small talk while waiting for the teacher. Might as well try and make a few friends on her first day, and who better than the fellow new girl?

"So, Allison, what brings you to Beacon Hills?"

"Well, my dad's job requires us to move around a lot. And I mean a lot. I'm lucky if we stick around one place for even one year. What about you?"

Carolina nodded in understanding before saying, "For... A fresh start. Clean slate."

She knew it was a vague, fairly terrible answer, but it was her fault for bringing it up. Her hand went up to her necklace, and she toyed with it a little before glancing up at Allison. The girl had a curious expression on her face, but thankfully didn't press for a different answer. She shifted a little, opening her mouth before closing it, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to properly convey it. Taking a breath, she spoke.

"Where are you from, Carolina?"

"New York. more specifically, Long Island City."

Allison's eyes grew wide. "Wow, that's quite the move."

"Yeah, it's definitely different. But I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you've had to do." Carolina shrugged, "The east coast feels like it's worlds away. But I'm glad to know I'm not the only newbie."  
Allison let out a laugh, "Same. I've been the new kid countless times, and it never gets any less awkward."

They both giggled, some of their first-day nerves relaxed, and chatted a little more about their experiences while moving. Carolina jumped as Allison's phone suddenly went off, ringing loudly.

"Sorry." The girl muttered, digging through her bag. She rummaged around a little, as it continued to ring. Finally successful in retrieving the device, she picked it up quickly. She rolled her eyes, but there was a playful smile on her face and Allison chuckled into the phone.

"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it." She sifted through the bag. "Everything except a pen. Oh, my God, I didn't actually forget a pen."

Carolina shot her a sympathetic look before searching her own bag for a writing utensil. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to pack more than one pencil, as per her usual organizational skills. Which were less than satisfactory, to say the least. There was a scuffling to her right, and Carolina looked up to see an official looking man approaching the pair.

"Okay, okay, I gotta go. Love ya."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," The man motioned for the two to follow him.

They both quickly got up from the bench. Carolina hoisted her backpack onto one shoulder and followed the other two into the school.

"So you were saying that San Francisco isn't where you grew up?" Carolina glanced between Allison and the man, whom she could only assume was Mr. Williams. She figured they had been talking while she was wandering around like a bumbling idiot in search of the main office.

Allison shook her head, "No, but we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual for my family."

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while."

Carolina nodded in agreement. She liked Allison, and as of right now she was her only friend in Beacon Hills. It'd be a shame for her to leave after a few months. Carolina couldn't imagine moving around so much. It had been hard enough for she and her dad to make the decision to move to California. To be forced to relocate would be exceedingly difficult.

They continued to walk through the hallways, and Mr. Williams ushered the new students into a room that was mostly full. Carolina let out a small sigh of relief to find that she and Allison were in the same class. Upon entering the room, she stood in the front, next to Allison. She fidgeted and felt her face grow warm as everyone's eyes skated over the new girls. Carolina pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt down over her hands and plastered a nervous smile over her face that ended up looking more like a grimace.

"Class, these are our new students, Allison Argent and Carolina Whitney. Please do your best to make them feel welcome"

"No, it's Carolina," She blurted out.

"What?" Mr. Williams gave the girl an odd look, and she let her hair curtain her face, feeling her ears grow warm.

"It... It's pronounced Caroleena. Not like the state North Carolina. Or South Carolina, for that matter. But y-yeah. It's pronounced Caroleena."

As she continued to stammer, Carolina felt the embarrassment build. Her cheeks grew bright red and splotchy, and she desired to just melt into a puddle on the floor more than anything. She tended to vomit words when she was nervous, and having the class stare at her unimpressed wasn't exactly helping. Allison gave her a sympathetic look. Carolina bit her lip as she heard a few snickers throughout the classroom. Letting out a shaky sigh, she quickly walked over to the first empty seat that caught her eye, at the back of the classroom. Allison made her way to the seat next to her, and Carolina watched as a cute, puppy-like boy in front of the girl turned around and handed her a pen.

_Weird..._ How could he have possibly known Allison needed a pen? Carolina shook my head and watched as he turned back around in his seat so that only his dark brown mop of hair was visible. She shook off the suspicion and smirked a little. Already, Allison was getting the attention of other students. Carolina suspected that within a week or two, Allison would have forgotten about her. After all, she wasn't as pretty as the other girl, and she'd pretty much blown her chances at making a good first impression. Carolina was tall, standing at 5'8", and awkward. She preferred to avoid huge crowds, and was easily intimidated by popular kids. No doubt, popular was the direction Allison was moving in. As for Carolina, she liked to stick around with a more unassuming crowd. They were friendlier, and less high maintenance. In her previous school, she hadn't been unpopular, but she wasn't terribly popular either. She was just at a comfortable medium. Hopefully, the same was in store for her here.

Carolina spent the rest of the period hiding behind a curtain of hair, chewing on her sweatshirt sleeve as they studied Kafka. There were far and few strange looks and mocking snickers thrown her way, but she managed to ignore them. Once the bell rang, she managed to find her next class without too much trouble. She found that the secretary was telling the truth when she said it wasn't too hard to navigate through the school. Carolina had a few other classes with Allison, but they only managed to snag seats next to each other in French. During Chemistry, she was paired up with Harley, an outgoing girl who tried to make her feel better about her disaster in English. Though Carolina didn't believe her when she said it hadn't been too bad, the girl appreciated her attempts to boost her confidence. Harley made the class almost bearable. But no matter how nice her lab partner was, the teacher, Mr. Harris, was still a complete and utter asshole. Carolina could already tell that she wouldn't like him. For some reason, he was already picking on kids, the most prominent victim being a pale, lanky boy with a plethora of moles scattered across his face. He was in most of her classes, and had caught her attention, mostly because of his very spastic, loud way of speaking and sarcastic quips he occasionally muttered. The rest of the day was uneventful, thankfully. Once last period was finally over, Harley approached her at her locker.

"Hey Carolina!"

Carolina grinned, glad that she seemed to have made yet another friend.

"Hey Harley."

"Listen, how about I introduce you to a couple of my friends?" Without waiting for a reply, Harley grabbed her by the shoulder and steered her down the hallway to where two boys were hanging around their lockers. Harley seemed to get momentarily sidetracked by the interaction between Allison and a smaller girl Carolina had seen in a couple of her classes.

"Can someone tell me how new girl is here all of five minutes, and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?" Harley glanced over to Allison, obviously peeved.

The taller of the two, the lanky boy with a buzz cut from my chemistry class, sighed, "Because she's hot. Beautiful people herd together."

Carolina scoffed, smiling slightly, "Huh, I'll try not to take that to offense." She gave the pair a wave, "I'm Carolina. New girl number two."

"Yeah, I know. I'm in your English class," Buzz cut answered, smirking slightly.

She let out a groan. Of course, just her luck. She hadn't noticed him first period, but that was probably because she'd been trying to avoid looking at anyone in that class. Carolina suddenly recognized the other boy, with olive skin and that mop of brown hair, from her English class as well. Great. So much for making more friends. They now knew just how awkward she was.

Puppy boy smiled warmly, "Aw, c'mon, it wasn't that bad. I'm Scott, by the way, and this is Stiles." Scott jerked his thumb at the taller boy, who gave her a clumsy little wave.

"Thanks, but I'm fairly certain it was that bad," Carolina shook her head, running her hand through her hair, "It's okay, it's not the most awkward thing to happen to me by far."

"And that would be...?" Stiles looked at her, a goofy grin on his face.

Carolina rolled her eyes, a smirk gracing her face, "Wouldn't you like to know? That is confidential information that is not meant for anyone but myself and the witnesses."

"Pretty please?" Stiles fluttered his eyelids, gaze locked onto hers.

"No can do, tiger. I'm going to be taking that story to my grave."

Letting out a huff, he gave up and got into a very animated conversation with Harley about Lydia's clique shortly after. Carolina tuned them out, mostly because all of the names they mentioned were completely foreign to her. She noticed that Scott was also spacing out, staring at where Allison and Lydia were talking. She fingered her necklace, starting to get lost in her thoughts. But soon Scott's eyes grew wide, and he hunched over slightly, blushing furiously and tapping the brunette on the shoulder. Carolina turned to him, confused. Scott pointed to where Allison was standing. Allison gave her a wave, motioning her over. Carolina turned back around, smiling at Scott, Stiles, and Harley.

"Well, duty calls. I'll see you guys later?" She headed across the hallway, leaving Harley and Stiles spluttering, wondering how she managed to know the new girl. She was grateful that Allison hadn't forgotten about her.

"What's up?" Carolina shouldered her backpack, suddenly self-conscious under the judgmental gazes of Lydia and a boy who appeared to be her boyfriend. Lydia's eyes swept her up and down, taking in the girl's worn sweatshirt and dirty converse. She let out a sigh of distaste, which Allison tactfully ignored. Allison lead Carolina a few feet away from the couple.

"Listen, Lydia and Jackson are pressuring me into going to watch lacrosse practice, so if I have to suffer through it, so do you."

"Wha? Where's the logic in that? No thank you, I'd rather not sit and listen to the Barbie doll's mindless chatter."

Allison pouted, giving her a pleading look, "Please, Carolina? I promise, I'll make it up to you."

Carolina let out a huff, grumbling, "You better."

Allison let out a cheer, and Carolina let Lydia lead them out to the fields as she thought of all the things she'd have Allison do to repay her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for favoriting/following the story! I'd like to thank Tarafina and the guest reviewers for reviewing my story and giving me some advice. I'd love some more feedback and criticism. This is my first story, so everything is pretty new to me. So feel free to critique to you little heart's content! I'm always open to new ideas or suggestions. Also, I'm still trying to perfect all the canon characters' personalities, so if you have any advice for that, go ahead and review. Thanks again!**

**Hope you don't all hate me now that I switched to third person. I just felt sort of awkward writing in first person. I feel like my writing is way better when I write in the person. Sorry if you prefer first person :/**

**Hey guys, shocker: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

Carolina pulled her jacket closer to her body, rolling her eyes. She was now seriously regretting letting Allison drag her along to watch lacrosse practice. Even though they'd only been outside for a couple minutes, she was already sufficiently cold. The varsity jacket she'd thrown on that morning was not providing nearly enough warmth, even with her sweatshirt layered underneath. Carolina felt a shiver run from her head to her toes, and she rubbed her hands together in an attempt to get a little warmth, as she, Allison, and Lydia filed into the bleachers. They'd been talking about their first day outfits and Carolina, not having much knowledge on the topic, decided to just occasionally nod or smile when one of them became particularly animated. When they finally plopped down onto the cold metal, the subject was changed to something she actually sort of knew.

"Who is that?" Allison nonchalantly glanced in the direction of a player, trying to act as if she didn't really care.

"Him? I'm not sure who he is. Why?" Lydia followed Allison's gaze towards the boy, who Carolina realized was Scott, the puppy-like boy Harley had introduced her to just minutes ago.

"He's in my English class," Allison stated, keeping her eyes on Scott. She sounded indifferent, but Carolina figured she was still curious, judging by how the two had been making googly eyes at each other in English.

"That's Scott. I met him a little while ago. But then again, so did you, sort of. He seemed pretty star struck in English," The brunette teased, nudging Allison with her shoulder and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Allison scoffed, slapping her arm.

"Shut up."

"Wow, stellar comeback. You've just verified the fact that you're totally into him." Carolina smirked, and Allison glared at her playfully before turning her attention back to the field. Her silence only made Carolina more certain that the girl had already found someone to pursue. Before Allison could retort, the whistle sounded, signifying the start of practice. The players lined up, with Scott in goal. Carolina watched as the first guy in line ran up to the goal and nailed Scott straight in the head, making him fall back into the goal. She winced, glancing over to Allison who had a similarly pained expression.

"Maybe he just needs to wake up a little," Carolina suggested, with a hopeful grin.

Sure enough, the next shot landed right in the back of his lacrosse stick. She clapped gleefully, happy he hadn't taken another hit in front of Allison, but slowed to a stop when she was met with silence. Everyone was stock still, shocked that he had made the save. Scott stared at the ball with equal confusion, and she saw him straighten up and get his confidence back. They all watched as Scott continued to make save after save, and soon the quiet bewilderment turned into excited cheering.

"He seems like he's pretty good," Allison offered, smiling.

"Very good," Lydia smiled slyly, and Carolina could see the gears turning in her head. Suddenly, Jackson pushed his way to the front of the line, sneering at Scott while he waited for the assistant coach to toss him the ball. As soon as the ball was thrown, Jackson sprinted forward, barreling toward the goal. When he shot, she held my breath, but Scott quickly caught it. With reflexes like that, she wondered why he wasn't the captain. Carolina jumped up and cheered with everyone else, awed by the fact that he'd managed to save the ball. Lydia was staring gloatingly at Jackson, as if silently warning him to step up his game.

They sat through the rest of practice, occasionally cheering on Scott or Jackson when one of them scored or saved. Once lacrosse was over, she, Allison, and Lydia made our way back into the school to wait for Jackson. Allison was catching a ride from Lydia, who wanted to congratulate her boyfriend for who knew what. Carolina was waiting for her father to get back to her, so she tagged along, not having anything better to do. She had her junior license, but her car had broken down a couple days ago. So her poor dad had to drive her everywhere. Not that she had many places to be driven. Just to and from school and work, which was at the hospital, where she'd just started volunteering. Carolina's beloved pickup truck was in the auto shop for an unforeseeable amount of time, so she was forced to depend on the her old man for transportation. She didn't mind too much. She loved spending time with my dad. The only problem was that he was always late. He never checked his phone consistently, so she was often left waiting for hours at different places. As much as she loved to be the last person to leave after her shift, she also couldn't wait to get her truck back.

Allison couldn't stop raving about Scott's unexpected talent, and Carolina smirked. Judging from the looks they'd been periodically giving each other throughout the practice, they were both already smitten with each other. They talked about the best plays while waiting for Jackson to get out of the locker. After taking longer getting ready than most girls do, Jackson emerged from the locker room with his hair impeccably styled, a charming grin gracing his face. Ugh. She wouldn't have minded the hair, but the cheesy grin was a bit too much. And not two seconds after he arrived, Lydia pounced on him, and they got locked into disgustingly intense PDA. Carolina shook her head, trying to focus on the conversation she was having with Allison. They were ranting about the massive chemistry assignment Mr. Harris had made due in a week, the bastard. Once Lydia and Jackson were done sucking each other's faces off, the group headed outside, where the couple engaged in yet another make out session before parting ways. Allison gave Carolina a wave as she slipped into the passenger seat of the car, while Lydia merely flipped her hair and flounced over to her car. Carolina sat on the front steps of the school, watching as Lydia's VW beetle and Jackson's Porche peeled out of the lot.

Grabbing her phone, she quickly checked her messages to find that her dad still hadn't answered her request to get picked up. Carolina sighed and shoved her earbuds in. After around a half hour of waiting for a reply, she impatiently caved and made the decision to try and walk home. She wasn't positive of the way back to her house, as she'd only moved to Beacon Hills a week and a half ago, but she figured if she got lost, she'd either be able to wander her way home, or could ask someone for directions. It wasn't the best idea, but she often made stupid, impulsive decisions without thinking them all the way through. Especially if she was in a particularly impatient mood. Instead of planning, she preferred to just act and play it as she went. And anyway, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Her father had made her take kickboxing lessons when she was younger, and she still took the occasional class, so she was well versed in the art of self defense, and anyway, Beacon Hills seemed like a quiet, boring town. Carolina stood up and stretched before starting across the parking lot. The school was already empty, with the exception of maybe a couple teachers. There was no way she would be able to cop a ride home, and if her dad wasn't going to answer, she was just going to have to take charge.

Making a left straight away, Carolina more or less knew the way back. At least, that was what she thought, until she made a wrong turn. She turned back and attempted to retrace her steps, only to make more wrong turns. She found herself wandering down a fairly empty street. It was narrow and winding, and there were thick woods on each side. No houses in sight, no signs of civilization. Wonderful. So much for asking directions. Carolina sighed, continuing down the street. There was bound to be some sort of life at the end of the road. Or maybe she'd get lucky and come across a runner or biker. The music blasted in her ears, and she hop-skipped down the road, humming along to 'Dani California.' She was actually enjoying herself. She had been on a couple runs since she moved to Beacon Hills, but she hadn't been aware that there was so much woodland. She made a mental note to look up some forest trails when she got home, when a large hand gripped her shoulder, scaring her half to death. Whirling around, she shoved her fist into her attacker's face and swiped their feet out from under them. There was a loud thump as the person hit the dirt beside the pavement.

Carolina pulled her earbuds out got down to face to the person, only to find herself face to face with... Stiles? The boy was lying flat on his back, air knocked out of him. He brought a hand up to his jaw, and he groaned, bewildered by the hit.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Carolina dropped her backpack and forced his hand away so she could inspect the damage.

"Is it a bad time? Listen, if you wanted to be left alone, you could've just told me," He wheezed, out of breath from the fall, "I just wanted to get your attention. You were pretty unresponsive."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was listening to music," She winced, seeing a bright red mark on his jaw. That was definitely going to bruise.

Another voice spoke, "Where'd you learn to hit like that?" Carolina looked past Stiles to see Scott standing a few feet away, a shocked expression etched on his face.

"My, uh, my dad. Well, not directly. He makes me take kickboxing classes. I guess he sort of wanted me to be able to protect myself."

"Well, tell him he has nothing to worry about," Stiles muttered. He rubbed his jaw and sat up, "If I'd known you could be so aggressive, I would have left you alone."

"Watch it, Stiles, or I'll punch you again. What did you want, anyway?"

Stiles looked at her, slightly alarmed, "No, no. No need to do any more punching. Please don't." Carolina held out her hand, in a gestured of goodwill. Stiles took it graciously, and she pulled him up into a standing position.

"We saw you were walking, and just wanted to know if you needed a ride or something," Scott piped up.

"Yeah, why are you guys even here in the first place?" Carolina wondered. It was a small side road, and she was certain she hadn't passed any cars or people, which meant they had to have come out of the forest. Or dropped out of the sky. Either or. The two of them shifted on their feet, and exchanged guilty glances, hesitant to speak. Yup, they were definitely up to something.

"I, uh, dropped my inhaler yesterday, so we were looking for it," Scott straightened up a little, pleased with his fine storytelling.

"Can I ask why you were in the woods yesterday?"

"Nope," Stiles said, popping the p.

Carolina rolled her eyes. They were definitely hiding something, but she decided she'd have to try and get it out of them another time. For now, she just really wanted to get home.

"Okay, I'll take you up on your offer, if it's not too much trouble. As long as you two promise you're not crazy ax murderers or anything," She joked weakly, picking her bag back up.

Stiles burst out into slightly maniacal laughter, "Hah, where'd you get that idea? Nah, nope. No murdering here. Murders in Beacon Hills? Nonsense. Utter, complete codswallop. Murdering. What a joke. I would never. My dad's the sheriff, so nope, nothing sketchy her-"

Stiles was cut off as Scott punched him firmly in the arm.

"Ow, what the-?" Scott widened his eyes, giving his friend a warning look before walking past him and down the road. Stiles muttered something under his breath and rubbed his arm, close behind Scott. Carolina narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but followed them to where a banged up blue Jeep was parked around a bend.

"Nice truck," She nodded in approval. Stiles eyed the girl suspiciously, as if he couldn't tell if she was joking or not. She held her hands up in surrender.

"No joke. I love beat up cars. Gives them character."

Stiles grinned, "Tell that to Scott."

Scott merely rolled his eyes and jumped into the Jeep, allowing Carolina to sit in front, the gentleman he was. She climbed into the truck with ease, now grateful for her height and practical style. She situated herself in the seat and placed her backpack on her lap while waiting for Stiles to awkwardly clamber into the car.

"So, where to, m'lady?" Stiles keyed the ignition and the Jeep roared to life.

"Ummm... Hold on." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through it. Stiles let out a laugh.

"You don't know your own address?"

"Hey, give me a break! I only moved here a week ago!" Carolina exclaimed defensively. She finally came across the right note. "Here it is... 19 Maple Avenue."

Scott's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh, that's just a couple blocks from me." He thought for a moment.

"That's why! I thought you looked familiar - you ran by my house a couple times."

Carolina ran a hand through her hair. That was always one thing she hated about running. She always felt like people who saw her were judging her, or that she looked like a complete idiot while doing so.

"That's cool. You'll have to tell me which one is your house." _So I can make sure to never run past it again._

"How about we just take you home first, Scotty?" Stiles turned around to face his friend.

Scott gave a thumbs up and Stiles sped down the street.

"So, were you trying to walk home?" Scott asked, raising his eyebrows. Carolina nodded, and he chuckled. "You were going in the complete opposite direction of our neighborhood."

She sighed. Of course she was.

"Lucky that your knights in shining armor were there, huh?" Stiles grinned at her. Carolina glared at him and gave him a hard punch to the arm. He cowered away. "Ow, that hu - is it beat on Stiles day or something?"

"No, but we can make that a regular thing if you infer that I'm a helpless little girl again."

"Nope, no, that's definitely okay."

Carolina smiled sweetly and turned on the radio. "Good."

Looking for a classic rock station, she stopped turning the dial when she heard the starting notes of 'Carry On Wayward Sun.' She started bobbing her head along to the song, mouthing the words. Stiles drummed on his steering wheel and looked over to her, "You like Kansas?"

Carolina nodded, still mouthing the words, and playing air guitar when the solo came. He shook his head and smirked, "You are certainly a different girl"

She gave him a pointed look and stopped strumming in midair. "What, like girls can't enjoy kickboxing and classic rock?"

He spluttered for a moment, and she patted his arm, "I'm joking, joking. I was raised by my dad, so I'm pretty much into whatever he pushed on me. That also includes Marvel and DC comics, so just be forewarned, I am a sucker for Spiderman and/or Batman comics." Carolina grinned, watching Stiles geek out a little.

"Batman is the best superhero ever! I keep trying to convince Scott, but he's set on the Hulk." He shot a glare over his shoulder to where Scott was lounging in the back seat. Scott rolled his eyes and sat up.

"Oh, please. Batman doesn't even have real superpowers, he gets it all from his gadgets. The Hulk would crush him," Scott argued.

Carolina faced Scott, shaking her head, "That's not the point. Batman took what he had, all this wealth, and turned it into something amazing. He could've just sat around and felt sorry for himself, but no, he did something. And he would totally kick the Hulk's butt. As would Spiderman."

Stiles nodded in agreement, while Scott merely stuck his tongue out, agreeing to disagree. I thought for a moment, before adding, "Besides, Batman has better villains. I mean, c'mon, you can't beat the Joker and Catwoman."

"And let's not forget the Scarecrow," Stiles mentioned, humming along to the last notes of the song. "Y'know what? I like you. You're pretty cool."

"Wow, that's definitely one of the lamer compliments I've received." Carolina rolled her eyes.

"Hey, be happy I deemed you cool - it takes a lot to land in my cool book."

"Your cool book?"

"Yup. It's my little mental book that lists the names of all the people I think are pretty okay. Scott, Harley, Danny, etc... and now you."

"You just made that up right now," Carolina said, unimpressed.

"No I didn't!"

After a little pause in the conversation, Stiles spoke up again, "So, no mom in the picture?"

He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. "Agh, sorry. Wow, that was really inconsiderate. Sorry. You don't have to answer that. Sorry."

"You want to say sorry one more time?" Carolina chuckled, "No, it's okay. Yeah, my mom left when I was really little, like, baby young. I never really knew her. So it's not really a sensitive subject, it's more of a fact." She shrugged. "Anyway, my sister pretty much raised me along with my dad, so she was sorta like my mom and sibling mixed in one." She smiled, grabbing her necklace, caught up in old memories of when Isabela used to try and boss her around.

Stiles nodded. "Wow, the amount of single parents in Beacon Hills is growing at an alarming rate."

Carolina looked up at him, glancing back at Scott. "Come again?"

Scott chuckled, "I live with my mom, and Stiles here lives with his dad." He patted Stiles on the chest.

"Alright, enough of the heart to heart, can we just enjoy the artistic talent of The Rolling Stones?" She grinned, while Stiles bobbed his head to the music and she turned it up a little. Soon, the entire car was rocking out to 'Paint it Black,' and they were at Scott's before the song was over. She jumped out of the car so Scott could climb out.

"It was a pleasure to ride with you." Carolina gave Scott a salute, which he returned with an adorable smile that was reminiscent of a puppy. He jogged up the path to his house and gave a wave before disappearing inside. She climbed back into the Jeep, where Stiles was still rocking out to the music.

"Okay, let's go." She buckled back up, and he pulled away from Scott's house. Stiles turned down the radio and angled himself towards her slightly.

"So, Carolina, what brings you to the unbelievably ordinary town of Beacon Hills?"

"Oh, uh, my dad wanted to move here for his work." A complete lie. But after Allison had asked her, Carolina knew that she'd be getting that question a lot, so she went with a fairly plausible option.

"Oh, cool, what does he do? CIA? Witness protection?" Stiles glanced at her quickly before flicking them back to the road.

"Nah, nothing cool like that, I wish. He's an author. He likes to write chapter books for kids - y'know, stuff similar to the Magic Tree House and Cam Jansen?" Carolina thought for a moment, "He's working on a new book right now. That's why I was walking. When he gets an idea, he's completely in the zone, so he turns off his phone. He's probably had a stroke of genius. It wouldn't be a problem if my car wasn't in the shop."

Stiles nodded in understanding, and she continued, "There's also the fact that he's almost always late. To everything. Honestly, I'm shocked that I managed to make it to school on time today. But you just wait, I'll be late the rest of the week."

Stiles considered this for a moment, before clearing his throat. "Well, uh, do you want a ride? I could drive you, if you want."

She shook her head, "No I couldn't ask you to do that. Besides, you hardly even know me. What if I end up being the most annoying person you've ever met?"

"I highly doubt that someone who likes classic rock and Marvel comics could be as annoying as you're saying. And I'm even willing to forget the fact that you socked me in the face. Anyway, it's not like it's out of the way."

"Yeah, I'm really, really sorry about that. But hey, you can say that you got in a fight with a bear or something. Unless you want it known that you got beaten up by a girl who's at least three or so inches shorter than you."

"Hey, that girl had a killer right hook." Stiles shook his head, "Nah, I think I'll just go with lacrosse injury on this one."

Carolina looked at Stiles in surprise. "You play lacrosse? I didn't see you during practice."

"Yeah, well, that'd be because Coach has me eternally glued to the bench," He didn't sound bitter, more resigned than anything.

"Hey, I bet you're the best benchwarmer on the team. I bet you keep the bench company like a pro." She raised her eyebrows and chuckled. Stiles joined her after a little, and once it died down, he searched for another topic of conversation.

"So, you mentioned you have a sister. Where is she, if it's just you and your dad." God. Of all the things for him to pick up from what she said, it had to be that.

"Why do you care?" It came out much more hostile than Carolina had intended. Perhaps a normal person would've just said it was a sensitive topic, or made something up, but her being the impulsive, awkward person she was, had to go straight to aggressiveness.

"Oh, sorry, never mind, you can just disregard that question. Sorry." The look on poor Stiles' face resembled that of a mixture between a kicked puppy and a deer in headlights. She sighed and gripped her necklace.

"No, I'm sorry, it's just a sore topic right now, you know? I don't really want to talk about it, that's all." Stiles nodded and turned back to the road. What she had said wasn't strictly true. She actually did want to talk about it, but she preferred not to be reduced to a blubbering mess in front of people she'd only just met. Nope, she'd like to save it for her stuffed animals. Or her guidance counselor. Either or.

The rest of the ride was spent in awkward quietness, with the radio playing in the background. Carolina rested her head on her hand, and Stiles just drove on, done with asking questions, probably afraid he'd hit another forbidden topic. Even though Scott had been right, her house was only a few blocks away from his, it still felt like a lifetime before they pulled up to the curb beside her house. Her dad's Volkswagen was parked in the driveway, which meant she'd been right, he was probably enraptured with his work. Stiles put the Jeep into park, and she jumped out, pulling on her backpack.

"Thanks for the ride. You really don't have to give me one tomorrow."

"Okay, but just letting you know, I live to give people rides. I'm sort of like a taxi. Y'know, I should start charging Scott for rides. I'd probably make a fortune." Carolina cracked a smile, and headed up the steps to her house, turning back to wave to Stiles.

"See you tomorrow, Whitney," He returned the wave, and skidded away from her house. Carolina found the door to be unlocked, and she was greeted with the familiar smell of pizza. She went to the kitchen to find two slices waiting for her on a plate. At least her dad had remembered to get hre pizza. Albeit horrible pizza, but it was still food. In the short time she'd spent in California, she'd learned that the pizza here was nowhere near as good as it was in New York. She only wished she'd appreciated it a little more before they moved. Carolina grabbed the plate and made her way up the stairs. Sticking her head into her father's room, she saw him hunched over the computer, typing away furiously.

"I'm home." She announced, and he looked up, giving her a smile and small wave before returning to his work.

"Pizza's on the table."

"Got it." Carolina skipped over to her room, which held only her bed and a small end table. The rest of her belongings still lay in various boxes stacked precariously on top of each other. She'd managed to locate her clothing with relative ease, so most of her shirts and such were packed into the closet, but that was the extent of her organization. Even with the numerous boxes littering the room, it was still cleaner than it usually was back when she lived in New York. She plopped onto her bed, grabbed her English book from her backpack, and started on the Kafka reading that Mr. Freeman had assigned. As she read, she devoured my pizza. Carolina hadn't realized just how hungry she was before. She hadn't eaten since fifth period, when she'd sat with Harley and her friends, Scott and Stiles not included. As she was finishing up her second piece, her dad poked his head into her room.

"Hey sweetie, sorry I didn't say much before, I had a chapter that I simply had to finish," He pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at her. Carolina returned the smile, and got up to hug him.

"It's fine, I know you're busy with work. Got those deadlines to meet, right?" She didn't mention the ride home. He'd get them later, when he turned his phone back on, and she didn't want to worry him. He had enough on his plate as it was.

"You got it." He ruffled her hair, and she wrinkled her nose, flattening the hair back into place. He turned to go back to his room, but stopped, remembering something. "How did you get home today?"

"Oh, I just got a ride with some friends." Carolina shrugged her shoulders. So much for not bringing it up. "No big deal."

He grinned, teasing her lightle, "Wow, aren't you just the regular social butterfly. One day in school and you already have friends to drive you places."

Carolina rolled her eyes, scoffing, "You know as well as I do that I'm not exactly skilled in conversing with people. But yeah, I met some nice people today."

"Good, I'm glad." He made to leave again before smirking coyly. "Any cute boys?"

A certain lanky boy's face flashed in her mind, but she merely shook her head and rolled her eyes once more. "Okay Dad, you're pushing it."

"Got it, got it, I'm leaving, don't worry." He held his hands up in surrender and backed out of her room, closing the door as he went.

After Carolina finished with the Kafka, she decided to just screw it and go to bed. She'd gotten home fairly late, despite the ride home. Making sure that her alarm clock was set for tomorrow morning, she got ready for bed quickly, taking a quick shower, and fell asleep within minutes of her head hitting the pillow. The events of the day had completely exhausted her. Little did she know, there was much, much more to come.

**Okay, this chapter was a little longer than expected. I'm not sure if they're all going to be this long, but I sure can try to maintain this length. It'd really help me if you guys maybe tell me if you'd like longer or shorter chapters, so I can better the story! So far, I'm thinking I'll probably divide each episode into two or three chapters, depending on the time frame of the episode, so tell me what you think. Also, sorry if it's moving a little slow, I just have to get all the basic stuff down before the excitement starts. But don't worry, she'll be fully aware of the supernatural world in a few chapters, and you'll find out more about her sister in the future as well, so stick around for that. **

**Not sure how much Carolina x Stiles moments there'll be in the next couple chapters, but I'm going to try to stick them in whenever I can. And I know that the first few chapters are very similar to most other Stiles/OC stories, but there's only so much you can do with the same information. But I'm working on making it unique! It'll definitely get interesting after I get the basic stuff out of the way. I also created a polyvore account so I could put together Carolina's oufits - links are in my profile. So yeah. If you read all of that, kudos to you. Thanks so much for following/favoriting, and feel free to review!**

**~Erin**


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry it took me so long to update this! Writer's block and having to study for the PSATs is not a good combination. So I was originally going to post the entire party scene as part of this chapter, but I decided to just make it another chapter, just because it's so much content. I'm going to try to post once a week from now on, so fingers crossed that that works out. Once again, I've posted Carolina's outfits for the chapter on my profile, so you can go look at those sets. I'd like to thank Fawkestheangelinthetardis, Tarafina, and the guests for reviewing my story. I love to hear what you guys think about my new chapters, so please please please review!**

**Hey guys, shocker: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

Carolina's eyes flew open as her phone vibrated violently under her pillow, an obnoxious beeping keeping time with the buzzes. Over the years she had found that the most effective way of waking herself up was to put her cellphone underneath her pillow, so that way the vibrations would jolt her awake. Of course, it was not exactly a fail-safe method. Carolina was a miraculously impressive sleeper. She could fall asleep within two minutes after she closed her eyes, and once asleep, it usually took a large effort to wake her back up. Whenever she was uninterested in something, she would doze off. Carolina especially felt embarrassed when she fell asleep during art. Once she had dozed off while watercolor painting, and she had woken up with her face stuck to the paper. Took a little while for the stains to come off of her face, so she walked around the rest of the day with a muddy blue and purple blur on her cheek. People kept asking what had happened to her face, because it seemed as though she had a nasty bruise. The only time she was certain to not fall asleep was when she was playing violin. It was something she so avidly enjoyed, she could never imagine neglecting it. Her violin was her baby; if anything were to happen to it, heads would roll.

Groaning, Carolina quickly shut the alarm off, unplugging her phone from the charger. She rolled over and, swinging her legs off her twin bed, shoved her feet into her slippers. Standing up, her vision went black for a moment as her blood rushed down to her feet. She shuffled over to the bathroom and washed her face, putting in her contacts. Carolina blinked a few times and waited for her vision to get back into focus. When she could see properly, she went back to her room and changed into the first things in her drawers. It was too early to be making an effort, so her routine usually just consisted of throwing on clothes and eating breakfast. It wasn't like she had anyone to impress at school, and makeup had always been a no-go for her. Carolina's sister, Isabela, used to try to give her a makeover, but she would stubbornly refuse. She just never really saw any point in wearing it.

Carolina made her way over to the bathroom, washing her face with cool water in an attempt to wake up. Once she'd brushed her teeth, she trudged downstairs. She decided to take the quick option and speed eat an apple.

Carolina dashed back up the stairs, slowing as she got to the top. She poked her head into her father's room, reluctant to wake him. He'd been working himself to the bone ever since the accident concerning Isabela, and the only time he looked peaceful was when he was fast asleep. While Carolina wanted to just give up, to just lay in bed and not bother with anything, Thomas tended to deal with his grief by immersing himself completely in his work. He overworked himself so that it was the only thing that occupied his mind, instead of painful memories and unwelcome hurt.

Carolina watched him for a moment. There was a sort of emptiness in his expression nowadays, something that was completely undetectable during sleep. She was about to enter and wake him when a loud, obnoxious honking startled her. Carolina let out a shriek, jumping and hitting her head against the door jam. Cursing, she ran down the stairs, the blaring noise still cutting through the previously peaceful morning every once in a while. She was surprised, however, to look out the window to see a familiar blue jeep in her driveway. Carolina stuffed her feet into a worn pair of sneakers, hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder, and headed out the door.

She approached Stiles' jeep with caution, ears firmly covered. Once close enough, she elbowed his window to get his attention. Stiles, who had been periodically punching the steering wheel, halted in mid swing and quickly began to crank down his window.

"Hey Carolina," he chirped, giving a grin. Ugh. It was way too early for smiles. The happy expression quickly slid off his face when he was met with Carolina's stony one.

"Hi Stiles," she sighed. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't hostile, just merely a curious question.

"Well, I was supposed to pick up Scott, but he just texted me saying he doesn't need a ride, since he's running late. Something about sleep walking and bad dreams, I dunno. But since I was already in the neighborhood, I figured you might still be up for that ride I mentioned yesterday."

Carolina nodded, cocking her head slightly. "I said I didn't need a ride." Stiles sighed, and pulled the jeep into reverse. But Carolina put her hand up, making him stop in his tracks. "But... since you're already here, you might as well save my dad the trip. That is, if you didn't wake him up."

She reached into the jeep, slapping him across the back of his head, a la Agent Gibbs.

"Ow - What was that for?"

"That was for waking up the entire neighborhood." She held out her hand, palm facing up. Stiles gave her a blank look, slapping it in a high five. Carolina rolled her eyes, continuing to hold her hand out. "Your phone, numbskull."

Stiles let out a small, "Ah," before leaning over and digging through his backpack.

"C'mon, don't have all day." Carolina walked around the jeep and hopped into the passenger seat.

Stiles looked up, a paper between his lips. "Patience," he mumbled, voice muffled by the paper, "Is a virtue, Whitney." Punctuating the sentence by slapping his phone into her hand, he pulled the car into reverse once more, giving Carolina barely enough time to slam her door shut. She turned to Stiles and stuck her tongue out quickly. He returned the gesture, and soon enough they were speeding in the direction of the high school. Carolina shot her dad a quick text to let him know that she got a ride to school. No doubt he'd want to know where she was. That is, unless he were struck by another idea, in which case he would tune everything else out, because it could wait.

Once she'd buckled herself in and actually put on her shoes properly, Carolina turned to Stiles. "So, why couldn't you let me know you were here without blowing out my eardrums?"

"Well, I didn't have your phone number!" He kept one hand on the steering wheel while gesturing wildly with the other.

"And what was stopping you from walking up and knocking on the door like a normal human being?"

"Eh, that's boring. I thought you should get the same treatment Scott gets. I'm all for equal rights. Yep, that's me. Totally against sexism and all."

Carolina couldn't help but smile at Stiles' weak excuse. "Clearly." She leaned forward, hair falling into her face as she turned the radio on. Settling on the same station as the previous day, she sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. She was too tired to worry whether or not the lack of conversation between them was awkward or not. But she felt comfortable enough in her slightly meditative state. Every once in a while, Stiles would glance over to see her sitting there, eyes closed, mumbling along to the words. After a few minutes, Carolina opened her eyes and looked at Stiles.

"Sorry about my grumpiness. As you can probably tell, I can be sort of... blergh." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, sighing slightly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Wait... was that a 30 Rock reference?" Stiles shot her a goofy grin, pulling into the school parking lot.

"You know it. That show was the best thing to happen to me. Just a warning, I do quote Liz Lemon quite a lot." Carolina smiled. The conversation took a turn to the glorious topic of 30 Rock, reminiscing about the genius of Tina Fey. They were slightly later than they probably should've been, and most of the parking spots were already occupied. It took Stiles a couple minutes to locate a parking spot, which Carolina pointed out in the corner of the plot. Expertly maneuvering his vehicle into the tight space, Stiles pulled it into park. Carolina hopped out of the jeep, grabbing her backpack and following Stiles into the building, avidly quoting one of her favorite episodes. She stopped at her locker.

"Well, thanks for the ride. You've done my father a service, letting him sleep for an extra few hours." Carolina gave Stiles a two fingered salute out of habit, which he quickly returned.

"No problem. I'll be sure to honk if I'm ever in the neighborhood again." Carolina shoved him with her shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't give you my number for shits and giggles. Put it to some use." She thought for a moment. "But I don't really text. So if you expect a conversation, you're gonna have to call me. Sorry, I'm lazy like that. I'd much rather say something rather than type it out. Takes too long."

"Whatever you say, chief." Stiles looked up as the warning bell rang. "Ah, gotta go to my locker. See you in a few."

Carolina watched as he jogged down the hall and disappeared around the corner. She shook her head and dialed the combination into her locker. Once she'd gotten the books she needed for the first half of the day, she headed in the direction of her English class. She got there before Stiles but after the majority of the class. She walked with noticeably more dignity than the day before to her seat towards the back of the classroom, giving a wave and smile to Allison as she slid into her desk. The seat in front of Allison was empty, as well as the one on the other side of Allison, opposite to Carolina. But just as the bell was ringing, signaling the beginning of the period, Scott and Stiles slipped into class, just barely on time. Stiles took his seat next to Allison, Scott sitting in front of her, in the same formation as the day before.

The two were deep in conversation, whispering furiously to one another. Scott had a vaguely worried expression on his face, bordering alarm, as he continued to tell Stiles something. The paler boy had a similarly concerned expression. It was odd seeing him so uncharacteristically serious. Intrigued, Carolina straightened up in her chair and strained her ears in an attempt to overhear what Scott was saying. She caught small snippets of their conversation, but it wasn't very interesting considering she couldn't hear the entire conversation.

Frustrated that her snooping tactics weren't up to par, she instead turned her attention towards Allison. "So, how was your first night of homework?" Allison glanced up from the notebook she was doodling in. Placing down her pen, she had a whisper of a smile on her face.

"Well, I didn't end up getting much done." Allison glanced at the back of Scott's head. He went extremely still and had become slightly detached from his and Stiles' conversation.

Carolina's eyes widened, and she looked between the two. "No... You didn't...?"

Allison blushed furiously, and Scott's head ducked down slightly. Waving her hands around, Allison shook her head. "No, no. Not like that, you sicko. I'm not that easy."

Mr. Davis began to write on the blackboard and the class went relatively quiet as they started to copy the information down.

Allison whispered, "I'll tell you later."

Carolina pouted, but opened her notebook and jotted down the notes on Kafka's Metamorphosis. English flew by surprisingly quickly, as did history, and her favorite class, Orchestra. She had been playing violin since she was in first grade, and had stuck with it, taking private lessons for nine years. Carolina had an ever present violin hickey on her throat, making it seem like she got a lot more action than she actually did (which was none). After a couple more periods, lunch finally rolled around.

Carolina had already somewhat gotten a sense of the general pattern of the cafeteria layout. The jocks and barbie dolls occupied two tables in the middle of the lunchroom, near the doors. Nerds, gamers, and outcasts bordered the cafeteria, and Scott and Stiles had their own table, towards the outskirts of the room. Druggies, skaters, preppies, and everyone in between filled in the extra space in the middle. Carolina sat with Harley and a few of her friends - a peppy blond girl obsessed with her grades named Ilana, a dramatic asian girl known as Molly who spent most of her lunch periods in the chorus room, and a quiet, seemingly shy redhead, Eriel. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was usually very observant or very philosophical.

Carolina plopped into her seat next to Harley and pulled her lunch out of her backpack. Harley looked up and smiled. "Hey Caro." Ilana and Eriel glanced up and waved, before going back to what appeared to be an English project.

"Hey guys. What's new?" Carolina glanced at each girl, but Harley was the only one that acknowledged her question. The other two girls were too distracted with their schoolwork.

"Not much." Harley paused for a moment. "Actually, Ilana here just told me that Harris is planning on assigning us some big lab to do at home with our partners. Due next week. So that blows."

Carolina made a noise of disgust, tearing a bite out of her sandwich.

"Yeah. Also, tonight's that big party. First one of the new school year. You going?"

Carolina looked up from her food and hastily shook her head. "Nope. Nu-uh. Parties aren't really my scene."

Harley stuck out her lower lip. "Oh, c'mon. Give me one good reason why you can't go."

"I have a ton of homework." Harley raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. "And I uh... Oh! I totally forgot, I have to volunteer at the hospital tonight." It was completely untrue, and blatantly so. Carolina plastered a phony grin on her face in an attempt to sell the lie.

"Bullshit."

Carolina opened her mouth indignantly. "Wha - no! I swear I have to."

"No, that is complete and utter bullshit. Any other excuses?" Harley smirked as Carolina opened her closed her mouth several times like a fish.

"Fine. I can give you three reasons. One, I dance like an inebriated chicken. Two, I don't like big crowds, it sucks for my anxiety. And three, I despise club music. It should not be allowed to be considered music."

Harley waved her hand dismissively. "Nope, none of those points are valid. You're going."

"No I'm not. Like I said, hospital."

"Yes you are. Please, Carolina?"

"Nein."

"Please. I'll... I'll to the science lab by myself. You won't have to lift a finger. C'mon. It won't kill you to be social for one night. And if you're having a terrible time after a couple hours, we can ditch the party."

It was too good an offer to pass up. Carolina huffed, glaring at Harley. "Fine. Only if you do the entire lab. But FYI, that's just low, bribing me with homework."

Harley thrust her fist in the air with victory. "Don't worry, you'll get over it when you're sitting at home doing nothing while I'm slaving away."

Carolina grinned. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to enjoy that."

"Also, you're letting me come over to pick you out an outfit and do your makeup."

"What? No, that wasn't part of the agreement." Carolina glared at Harley.

"Too bad. Remember, I'm the one that got the short end of the stick. So we're doing this my way. If I have to suffer through the lab, you get to suffer through a makeover."

Grumbling to herself, Carolina tore off a bite of her sandwich, chewing crossly. This had better be worth it.

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As promised, Harris did assign a huge lab project. Carolina was put in a slightly better mood, knowing she wouldn't have to participate in it. When the final bell rang, she booked it to her locker, shoving whatever binders and notebooks she would need. Harley approached her just as she shut her locker.

The girl bounced on the balls of her feet. "Okay, let's go."

Carolina's brow furrowed. "Where?"

Harley rolled her eyes. "To lacrosse. We're watching, obviously."

Of course. And Stiles was at practice too, so there was no hope of her catching another ride from him. Carolina let out a resigned sigh and followed Harley out to the field. At least she wouldn't have to sit with Lydia again. She didn't despise the girl, but it was exhausting listening to her chatter on about the latest trends or what Glamour magazine said about picking the right foundation shade. There had to be more to her than high heels and short skirts.

Carolina and Harley made their way out to the field, snagging seats at the end of the bleachers.

"So I've been thinking, and I think I want to do a sort of natural, nude smoky eye on you. It'd really make your eyes pop." Carolina blankly nodded, pretending as if she actually knew what Harley was going on about. She tuned Harley out, momentarily distracted by the way Stiles was frantically and jerkily attempting to get Scott's attention. However, Scott shrugged Stiles off, leaving him standing on the sideline, a distressed look on his face. Carolina could only imagine what was making the two act so strangely. She was jolted out of her thoughts when the air was filled with the shouts of players as they sprang into action. Almost immediately, a scrimmage was started up, and the ball was being passed from player to player. Scott got the ball, and Carolina clapped as he ran with it. But she winced as he was brutally checked by another player. Her suspicions as to who it was were confirmed as Jackson took his helmet off.

"Ugh... He can be a real jagweed sometimes." Harley nodded in agreement, and the pair continued to watch as the players milled around the field, scoring every so often. At one point, Scott and Jackson faced off. As the whistle blew, Scott scooped the ball up and dashed down the field. He dodged and cut around player after player. When he came to the last batch of defenders, Scott made a miraculous flip over the players and launched the ball straight into the net. Carolina gaped, dumbfounded. She was pulled to her feet by Harley, who was now bouncing around gleefully. Carolina clapped slowly, still confused as to how the feat Scott had just performed was possible. The apparent giddiness of the crowd faded slightly when Scott was pulled to the side. Coach started yelling animatedly, seeming to scold him, shouting something about gymnastics. But when he declared that the boy made first line, a huge applause erupted. Carolina clapped along, now happy for Scott, but she faltered when she saw the look on Stiles' face as he turned to glance into the crowd. Their eyes met, and he gave her a small smile before seeming to spot someone else in the crowd, who he spent a good amount of time looking at. It was strange. Instead of seeming proud, or even jealous, Stiles just looked... nervous. But Carolina didn't dwell on it for too long. The look on Jackson's face was too priceless to ignore.

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Carolina collapsed onto her bed, thoroughly exhausted. Once practice had ended, she and Harley had first stopped at Harley's house to pick up a few things (a 'few' things being what appeared to be Harley's entire makeup collection and a slew of possible outfits) and then headed over to the Whitney's. Harley had made her try on several different outfits before Carolina made a bit of a scene, demanding the girl at least let her wear jeans. After much bickering, they had settled on something that was, though very different from what she normally wore, bearable for her to wear. Or so she thought. At least she didn't have to wear one of the frilly skirts Harley had brought with her.

After Carolina was dressed, Harley slathered multiple face creams and makeup products on Carolina's bare face. It was a very foreign feeling, and Harley slapped her hand more than once to prevent her from rubbing the eye makeup off. The result, though very pretty, made Carolina feel like she was wearing a mask. She was afraid to touch her face for fear that she'd smudge all of Harley's hard work, and felt that the makeup would melt off before they even got to the party.

So instead of moving around and risking the possibility of ruining all of Harley's hard work, Carolina found herself dozing off as she stared up at the ceiling. She was rudely brought back to reality as Harley slammed a powder brush onto the dresser.

"Done."

Carolina sat up, giving Harley a once-over. Damn, she looked good. Carolina strangely found herself hoping that she looked just as good. Truth be told, she had actually somewhat enjoyed the makeover she'd been bribed into. Though she'd never admit that to Harley.

"Finally."

"Hey, I had to do my makeup too. Couldn't let you be the only knockout."

Carolina rolled her eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. You love looking smoking hot, don't lie." A small grin crept onto Carolina's face.

"Okay, maybe I don't hate it as much as I thought I would." Harley smiled triumphantly, and Carolina brandished a finger towards her friend. "But don't think I want this to be a regular thing. It's way too much work to do this more than once a month."

Unfortunately, that was apparently the wrong thing to say. Harley glanced innocently at her friend. "So we can do this every month? Sounds good to me."

Carolina spluttered. "Wha - that's not what I said!" But Harley was already flouncing out of the bedroom. Heaving a sigh, Carolina followed, heading downstairs, where she nearly ran her father over.

"Hey Dad." She gave him an innocent smile. She was secretly hoping that her father would forbid her from going to the party, so she decided to drop a couple hints. "Just heading out to some crazy party. But if you'd rather me stay home, I will."

Thomas returned the smile, "No, no, that's okay. Go have fun. I'm glad you're getting out and making friends."

He made a movement towards the staircase, and Carolina opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Harley. "Alright, great! Thanks so much, I'll get her home around eleven or twelve."

Harley half ushered, half shoved Carolina out of the house, a firm grip on her arm. Carolina tried to get out of her friend's grasp, but she suspected that Harley didn't trust her to go through with their deal. With good reason.

**Hope you liked this chapter! Be sure to review - I really appreciate all of your input, so keep the critiques coming. The next chapter's going to get pretty interesting - sorry if this one was a bit dull, but I need to build up to the action. Thanks so much for following/favoriting, and feel free to review!**

**~Erin**


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